Insurance question

Hi, all! We are new to Regent Seven Seas. I always get insurance through an outside vendor but in looking at Regents insurance, it looks pretty good. Would love to hear input from everyone. Doing an 11-night Alaska next summer. Thanks!!

Hi, all! We are new to Regent Seven Seas. I always get insurance through an outside vendor but in looking at Regents insurance, it looks pretty good. Would love to hear input from everyone. Doing an 11-night Alaska next summer. Thanks!!

We always go third-party. Just got in the habit of doing that, I'm sure I did the cost comparison years ago. Might be time to revisit it, but it seems to me that the third-party policy was a better deal for us.

Newyorker - I think the answer to your question (re: is Regent insurance a good deal?) is, "it depends". It mainly envolves the ages of the insured/s. For younger cruisers (perhaps below age 70), you might do better with 3rd party insurance. But when my Dad was cruising with us, he was in his 90's.

With Regent, the insurance premium is just a percentage of the fare's costs, regardless of the cruiser's age. So for my Dad, the Regent premium was "reasonable". However, if we had gotten his trip insurance through a 3 party insurance company, his premium (at age 95) would have been astronomical....nearly half the cost of the cruise itself, if memory serves me correctly. Regards

Thank you! When comparing, I found the cruiseline insurance to be only a few dollars more with a little more coverage. Only thing is I need to pay the whole thing upfront whereas if I used an outside agency, I only have to pay the insurance on the deposit to start out with. So, if I cancel before final payment, I've lost about $200 but in the end, very similar for us (in our early 50's). Thanks for the input.

We use the insurance company recommended by our TA, which is CSA. It covers pre-existing conditions and does not have to be paid until final deposit.

I hope you will love your Regent experience-- we have for many years.

pingpong: When your dad was in his 90's and traveling with you (hooray for team pingpong!), did he not have "pre-existing conditions"? My husband is 87, so the Regent insurance would be less expensive-- but unless I'm mistaken Regent insurance doesn't cover "pre-existing." (I'm never sure exactly what that means, but I suspect that insurance companies have ways of getting around it.)

Looking forward to a new experience and I don't want to wish my life away but I can't wait!

The Regent insurance while reasonable for older people has a very long look back period for any type of pre-existing condition. I believe it is 180 or 120 days. This means if something occurs in the look back period that causes you to miss the cruise it may not be covered. I am no expert but suggest you in

vestigate this issue before purchasing. Other insurances comes with a pre- existing condition waiver such as Poss mentioned. You can purchase it at final pay. It can be expensive.

I believe if purchased within 10 or 14 days of deposit it's included. I hate fine print.

I haven't bought insurance from RSSC for a very long time, but I might have to start. Many of the usual carriers won't cover Canadians now. I am going without insurance for my next cruise (touch wood) because of problems we had finding insurance, so next time, we may just go with RSSC. But I will have to study the whole "look-back period" thing if we ever do that.

Thank you! I can pick up many things very fast. Insurance isn't one of them!

I haven't bought insurance from RSSC for a very long time, but I might have to start. Many of the usual carriers won't cover Canadians now. I am going without insurance for my next cruise (touch wood) because of problems we had finding insurance, so next time, we may just go with RSSC. But I will have to study the whole "look-back period" thing if we ever do that.

Not sure of the name -sorry, but my TA had one that was good pricing.

We're US and when I called they only did Canadians.

Wendy-- Have you ever contacted the "Ship Insurance Store"? I remember from past posts that people have spoken well of them. Maybe they'd know more about which companies write for Canadians? Very strange about companies not covering. Are there "rational" reasons, I wonder?

It's quite likely your credit card offers some coverage. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa has $10,000/person for cancellation, interruption, etc.

Saildude - Good Point. I'd forgotten about that option. In order to get the trip cancellation coverage through them do you suppose you'd have to book/purchase the cruise (and/or plane tickets) using that card? Regards

Saildude - Good Point. I'd forgotten about that option. In order to get the trip cancellation coverage through them do you suppose you'd have to book/purchase the cruise (and/or plane tickets) using that card? Regards

According to their documentation, you only have to book part of the trip costs with the Chase card. I imagine Chase has a blanket policy that covers all of their cardholders and is not dependent on the amount of trip costs charged on the card. There is an upper yearly limit of benefits which I think is $40,000.

It is a good deal to get that insurance as well.

I tried researching the insurance question on Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa site as it sounds too good to be true. It said that pre existing conditions were not covered with no further explanation. I then tried calling the number provided for further information and couldn't get to the right place to get an answer.

Does anyone know what this statement means? They did not mention a look back period.

I tried researching the insurance question on Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa site as it sounds too good to be true. It said that pre existing conditions were not covered with no further explanation. I then tried calling the number provided for further information and couldn't get to the right place to get an answer.

 

Does anyone know what this statement means? They did not mention a look back period.

Pre-existing condition is defined on page 17 of the Guide to Benefits (https://www.chasebenefits.com/sapphirepreferredVW17). It reads:

Pre-Existing Condition – illness, disease or Accidental injury of

you, your Traveling Companion, your Immediate Family Member or

the Immediate Family Member of the Traveling Companion, for which

medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended or

received within the 60-day period immediately prior to the purchase

of a Covered Trip. The taking of prescription drugs or medication

for a controlled condition throughout this 60-day period will not be

considered to be a treatment of illness or disease.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Dave. That is very helpful. I guess I didn't scroll down enough. That would be a fantastic saving for us. I plan to look into the card tomorrow. It certainly beats the $300 Shipboard credit from Am Ex Platinum. The the Chase card costs far less.

I use it for all cruises that are remotely near $10,000 for each of us. I did call Chase and they gave me their insurance department number and it is for real. I could not believe it. Amex FORMERLY had this on their Platinum card, but I didn't register for it and they don't do it any more.

Wendy-- Have you ever contacted the "Ship Insurance Store"? I remember from past posts that people have spoken well of them. Maybe they'd know more about which companies write for Canadians? Very strange about companies not covering. Are there "rational" reasons, I wonder?

If you mean, "Insuremytrip", yes, I have. I did find one who would do this trip, a US carrier, travelguard I think. But it was outrageously expensive. The problem is that we're Canadian but we're not leaving from Canada, so Canadian insurers won't cover us. This because we live in Florida in the winter.

And now last week I did the unthinkable and had my doctor change one of my medication dosages, so now I'd be scr**ed anyways. So for the first time, we're "self-insuring", yikes!

Luckily we don't need medical, just cancellation.

https://tripinsurancestore.com

It was mentioned very favorably on another thread.

That change of medicine thing really bugs me.

Wendy, I'm not sure if any these ideas might work for you but I thought I'd post the information in case it works for you or any other Canadian who is looking for insurance for trips:

1) Depending upon past employment: university, retired teacher, government, you might be eligible for extended insurance including "Snowbird" coverage for trips that would include leaving from the USA and not Canada.

2) There is https://www.tmtsf.ca/index.php/consumer/portal/TRACA28 that seems to offer insurance that might be applicable.

3) Some medications are "exempt" from the 90 or 180 day stability clause and you could check with your insurance to see if your change is one that is "allowed". A friend just got hers in writing from her insurer. Some blood thinners, antibiotics required before dental work, etc. are not a problem.

4) BC CAA has additional protection that we don't get but it might be something that also works where you live.

I use trip insurance store for all our trips. Steve is amazing and I trust his advice which I don't do easily.

However, the Chase Sapphire card could be a game changer. How did I miss this! We spent thousands on isurance the last couple of years. Has this benefit been around for a long time?